Volume I Part 14 (2/2)
[13] [A letter froton to Sir Robert Peel, dated the 13th of August, 1828, explains the circumstances that led to the reh Admiral This letter is published in the first volume of Sir Robert Peel's 'Posthumous Memoirs on the Catholic Question and the Repeal of the Corn Laws,' p 269 The Duke of Wellington says, 'He behaved very rudely to cockburn I saw cockburn and Croker, and both agreed in stating that the er work' In a subsequent letter the Duke added, 'I quite agree with you that it is very unfortunate the Duke of Clarence has resigned
I did everything in ive up cockburn' The whole correspondence is published in the fourth voluust 29th, 1828 {p142}
Caht There were the Lievens, Cowper, Lord Melbourne, Luttrell, Pierre d'Areham races Tuesday and Thursday, was very well received and pleased He was very gracious to e to see Lady Conyngha she had never seen Clifden, carried her off there, ordered luncheon and the pony carriage, took her all over the place, and then carried her back to Salthill, where the King's carriage inia Water to dinner
Lieven told me they had never expected to find this Turkish expedition an easy business, and had always been prepared for great difficulties, &c, from which I conclude that they have met with some check I met Bachelor, the poor Duke of York's old servant, and now the King's _valet de chas about the interior of the Palace; but he is co to call on me, and I rite dohat he tells me then There is a report that the Admiralty has been offered to Lord Melbourne I asked him (at Stoke), and he said he had never heard of it
London, Nove since I left town, because nothing occurred worth re Yesterday I went to the Council at Windsor Most of the Ministers were there, the Recorder, two foreign Ministers, and the Duke of Clarence The King seeton did not arrive till late, and before he was coave hiht therein the wind, and was struck with Peel's taking the Duke into one of therecesses and talking to him very earnestly as soon as he came out I returned to town after the Council, and in the evening went to the play, and co out I o with hie, when he toldaudience--that the Duke has at last made up his mind to carry the Catholic question, and that Peel[14] and the rest of the violent anti-Catholics are going out; that the Duke's present idea is to apply to Huskisson, but that nothing will be done or said till the Ministers assemble in town and hold their cabinets
[14] [It had not then transpired, nor was it known until long afterwards, that the proposal to carry Catholic Eton on the 11th of August Sir Robert Peel states, however, in his 'Memoir,' p 269, 'At the close of the year 1828 little, if any, progress had beenthe difficulties hich the Duke of Wellington had to contend;' and, p 274, 'The chief difficulty was the King At the commencenified his consent that the whole subject of Ireland, including the Catholic question, should be taken into consideration by his confidential servants']
He told reed tothe Russians froe Head: HEALTH AND HABITS OF GEORGE IV]
December 16th, 1828 {p143}
A Council at Windsor yesterday; very few present, and no audiences but Aberdeen for three-quarters of an hour and the Duke for fivetalk with hi ell, but weak, his constitution very strong, no malady about hiet rid of He thinks the hot rooetting every day more averse to exercise and more prone to retirement, which, besides that it weakens his constitution, is a proof that he is beginning to break Bachelor thinks he is in no sort of danger; I think he will not live more than two years He says that his attendants are quite worn out with being always about hies the air and exercise B is at present well, but he sits up every other night with the King and never leaves hihton is now as civil and obliging to hi instructs him in his duties in the kindest reat deal to hireat distance froh he talks to his pages with more openness and fa) is not in such favour as he was, though he is always there; of O'Reilly the surgeon, who sees the King every day and carries hiossip he can pick up, Bachelor speaks with very little cere told them the other day that 'O'R was the damnedest liar in the world,' and it see people in this way to his _valets de cha has his boxes brought to hihton or Watson, both of whom have keys of all the boxes He says there is not one person about him whom he likes--Mount Charles pretty well, Taylor better than anybody, Knighton constantly there and his influence unbounded; he thinks K can do anything
[Page Head: CHARACTER OF O'CONNELL]
December 20th, 1828 {p144}
Hyde Villiers called on ive me an account of his visit to Ireland He seeas the cleverest ood deal of the Lord-Lieutenant;[15] and was struck by his imprudence and unreserve He spoke very positively of his determination not to be a party to any measures contrary to his opinions, and did not scruple to complain of the little infor their intentions He also appears to have been flattered by O'Connell into entire confidence in him, and told Villiers that he would trust hih shi+el does not oppose hi he can to thwart and provoke him, and opposes him in the association[16] upon all occasions Lately in the affair of the 'exclusive dealing' he met with such opposition in the association that it required a great deal of tih in the end he carried the h opposed by a numerous party in the association, is all-powerful in the country, and there is not one individual who has a chance of supplanting hireat mass of the Catholics For twenty-five years he has been continually labouring to obtain that authority and consideration which he possesses without a rival, and is now so great that they yield unlimited obedience to his individual will As an orator he would probably fail in the English House of Commons; but to a mob, especially an Irish mob, he is perfect, exactly the style and manner which suits their tastes and comprehensions, and consequently his success with thee landed property, is at the head of his profession, an ader of a cause, and never for a moment diverted by political or other considerations froe of his professional duties He is besides a reat probity in private life, and has been for years in the habit of affording his professional assistance gratis to those of his own religion who cannot afford to pay for it These are sorounds of his popularity, to which may be added his industry and devotion to the Rooes to bed at eight He possesses a very retentivein historical and constitutional knowledge The great object of his ambition is to be at the head of his own profession, and his favourite project to reform the laws, a task for which he fancies himself eminently qualified To accoes of partial inconsistency he exposes hienuity to exonerate himself from them afterwards Neither O'Connell nor shi+el are supposed to be ht capable of the most desperate adventures shi+el is of opinion that the association ht be suppressed by law; O'Connell thinks it could not, and that if it ally it could not practically O'Connell says he can keep the country quiet another year certainly, Doyle thinks not Doyle is a very able ed to act in concert with him
Doyle, conscious of his own talents, is deeply mortified that no field is open for their display, and he is one of those ed Murray[17] is a clever man, but not so ambitious as Doyle; Francis Leveson is extremely cautious, cold in his ard in Ireland, where they like an exactly opposite character William Lamb was popular beyond all precedent, but Francis see offence to either party, which is perhaps as much as could have been expected from him, and in a country where the rival factions are so exasperated against each other to be able to preserve a character for impartiality is no small praise I wrote to my brother Henry what I have mentioned under the head of November 21st, and in return he told me that it was in contemplation to put down the association, and that the law officers in Ireland had reported that it was practicable, and their opinion had come over here, but the decision of the Governlesey was then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland]
[16] [The Catholic association The 'exclusive dealing' was a pledge required of emen]
[17] [Dr Murray, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Lord Francis Leveson (afterwards Lord Francis Egerton and Earl of Ellesmere), Mr Greville's brother-in-laas then Irish Secretary William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne, had preceded hial Court]
I very soon saw enough to satisfyto prevail on Peel to stay in office, and his repeated conferences with the Bishop of Oxford and other bishops are enough to prove that he is negotiating with the Church, but nothing transpires of his intentions Not one word has been said to Huskisson or any of his friends My belief is that in that long conference at Windsor the King tried to prevail on Peel not to go; since which discussions between Peel, the Duke, and the Bishop have been going on to see how the ed so as to make Peel's acquiescence palatable to the Church and the Brunswickers, and perhaps to engage the Duke to ly This is conjecture The Duke is gone to Wootton and to Middleton; he is always going about
[Page Head: LORD BELMORE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA]
Deceo I saw Lord Bel out for Jamaica I went to talk to him about my plan[18] He was very civil and said he would do all that depended upon hiht, but whatever his talents may be, he seems to be left to the free exercise of them, for he told me that he felt his situation to be one of so received any instructions (except of course the for) as to his conduct fro had no conversation with any of the authorities about the state of the colony, nor any intimation of their views and intentions in respect to the principal matters of interest there He said that as the asse, he had proposed to postpone his departure till the end of their session, when the Bills they passed would coht discuss them with the Government and learn their sentiments and wishes as to the course he should adopt; a very sensible proposition But he received for answer that he had better go now, for that when these Bills ca, and Government would not have leisure to attend to the affairs of Jaoverned! Stephen,[19] to whoe Murray did nothing--never wrote a despatch--had only once since he has been in office seen Taylor, who has got all the West Indies under his care
[18] [Mr Greville held the office of Secretary of the Island of Jamaica The duties of the office were performed by a deputy paid by the Secretary out of the fees received in the island He never visited Jamaica, and the office held on these conditions was a sinecure; but he occasionally took part in the affairs of Jae is unknown to me Somerset, second Earl of Belmore, had just been appointed Governor of Jamaica at this time]
[19] [James Stephen, Esq, then law adviser of the Colonial Office, and afterwards Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies Mr Henry Taylor, the accomplished author of 'Philip von Artevelde,' was at the head of the West India departe Murray was Secretary of State]